The present invention relates to connectors for joining a toy joint element to a brick.
Construction sets for constructing three-dimensional geometrical configurations, molecular models, display structures, furniture, toys, buildings and bridges, and other assemblies by means of joint elements and interconnected struts are legion in the prior art. One such set is the construction set having clip fasteners disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,129,975, assigned to applicant's assignee, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference. U.S. Pat. No. 4,129,975 discloses a plurality of hollow twenty-six (26) faceted toy joint elements with the facets being arranged in a selected orientation. Each facet defines a joint opening which is configured for receiving an elongate strut for interconnecting a plurality of the joint elements to form a three-dimensional framework. The struts have clip fasteners at each end adapted for snap fitting engagement within the joint openings such that they are not separable merely by application of tensile force to the struts; and locking means are provided for preventing inadvertent disengagement of the struts from the joints.
Another known construction set includes elements having a male face generally having multiple symmetrically arranged cylindrical protrusions on a generally flat surface. Other elements have a female face having gripping surfaces to grip, and thereby mate with, the cylindrical protrusions of the male face. One basic element of this construction set is a six-sided toy brick which includes both male and female faces arranged on opposite sides of the brick. The female face of this basic brick element has gripping surfaces which include the inner surfaces of four side walls and the outer surface of at least one tubular protrusion arranged symmetrically between the side walls.
What is needed, then, are connectors which enable the joining of the toy joint element to the toy brick. More specifically, what is needed is a connector to join the toy joint element to a male face of a toy brick and a connector to join the toy joint element to a female face of a toy brick.